


Wish you were here.

by CampbellFitch



Category: Coronation Street
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-16
Updated: 2019-04-16
Packaged: 2020-01-15 04:54:00
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,225
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18491761
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CampbellFitch/pseuds/CampbellFitch
Summary: It's Kate's birthday and she misses Rana.





	Wish you were here.

**Author's Note:**

> Hi. I've been deep in my Kana feels today and this one shot is a result of that. I hope you like it.

Wish you were here.

A loud crashing sound from outside of her bedroom roused Kate Connor from her restless sleep. She sighed in annoyance at being woken up and rolled over with the intention of snuggling with her wife and going back to sleep.

She cracked one eye open when her hand met the cold pillow and sheets and a deep ache settled in her chest at the reason why – Rana was gone. 

Kate buried her face into her wife’s pillow and closed her eyes; if she breathed deep enough, she swore she could still smell her shampoo and perfume.

She’d been caught doing that quite a few times, Kate had, and Rana had always been amused to find the former self proclaimed unromantic person (Rana had long suspected it to be untrue, since to her Kate was the ultimate definition of dreamy) spooning her pillow.

“I only went to the loo, ya dafty!” Rana had chuckled good-naturedly before she had climbed back into bed.

“What can I say? I missed ya,” Kate had replied and had pulled Rana closer to prove just how true her statement was.

Kate let out a deep, wistful sigh at the thought of those fun filled mornings when they had all the time in the world, yet at the same time, it felt as though there were never enough hours in the day.

Another bang came from the kitchen and Kate rolled over onto her back. She knew she should get up; Craig had been on a night shift and was probably shattered but Kate knew he wouldn’t go to bed until he had seen her and made sure she was okay.

He did that a lot lately, ever since Rana had.....been gone. Kate knew he meant well; he was kind, caring and thoughtful, in fact he was one of the very few decent blokes on the street (not that the competition was up to much but still) but sometimes it was a little bit too much and she just wanted to be left alone.

Especially today – her 30th birthday.

It felt like only yesterday since Rana had teased her about hitting her thirties, whilst she was still in her twenties (albeit late twenties but that was beside the point) and had called her an ‘old girl’.

“Oi, you’re only a coupla years younger than me!” Kate had quickly reminded her giggling wife and had pulled her closer by the hips. “I’ll have you know, I’ve got bags of energy and stamina to spare, thank you very much.”

“Hmm, is that right?” Rana had asked with just the right amount of seduction in her voice to make Kate’s entire body flush with heat. “Prove it.” Rana had lifted a perfectly shaped eyebrow and since Kate’s default setting was ‘whatever Rana wants’, she had immediately fulfilled the request.

Kate checked the time on her phone and realised it was later than she thought. She reluctantly pushed the covers from her body and swung her legs over the side of the bed as she perched on the edge. 

She opened up her messages and call list and berated herself for checking for non-existent texts and voicemails. Against her better judgement, she wrote a text anyway; ‘I love you more today than yesterday but not as much as tomorrow. Wish you were here, babe. I miss you so, so much. xoxo’. 

She pressed send and switched her phone off, unable to cope with seeing the ‘message not sent’ notification because Rana’s phone no longer had signal. 

Kate rubbed her hands over her tired face. She checked her reflection in the mirror and noted the puffy eyes and sallow complexion that now seemed to be a permanent feature and left her room.

“What’re you doing?” she asked when she saw Craig suspiciously fiddling with the hobs.

He jumped, clearly startled by her voice and began fidgeting on the spot. 

“Oh, you’re up! I mean, happy birthday...I think...er...sorry,” he frowned and hoped he didn’t sound insensitive – he knew his flatmate wasn’t in a celebratory mood. “I made you a brew and also these,” he said and flipped the slightly burnt and odd shaped pancakes onto a plate.

Kate felt her eyes burn with unshed tears at his kindness and she quickly blinked them away.

“I also got you a card,” he revealed. “I...I put it with the others.” He pointed to the stack of unopened cards on the breakfast counter. “And these.” He held up a box of Milk tray and put it with the other pile of presents.

“Thank you.” Kate managed a small smile. “I’ll open them later.” 

“Oh, I bumped into Johnny on my way home. He said to remind you about the party later.”

“And I told him I don’t want a party. What’s the point in celebrating when the most important person in my life won’t be by my side?!” she snapped and instantly closed her eyes in regret. “Sorry. It’s not your fault, I shouldn’t have...”

“It’s fine,” he quickly waved away her apology. “Sometimes it’s good to vent. Anyway, I’m going to bed. Don’t feel like you have to eat that, I won’t blame you if you throw it in the bin as soon as I’m gone. Maybe see you later at the Rovers?”

“Maybe.” Kate shrugged noncommittally and Craig nodded before he left her in peace and went to bed.

______________________________________________________________________ 

Kate did go to The Rovers that night, not because she wanted to (she really didn’t) but because she knew her dad wanted to see her. She had become somewhat of a recluse and a shadow of her former self since Rana had....been gone and she knew that he and Jenny were worried about her.

“You’ve barely touched your food, love.” Jenny reached across to rub her forearm. “I know I’m no Nigella but it’s not that bad, is it?” she had said over a roast chicken dinner the night before.

“It’s fine,” Kate had said. “I’m just not hungry.”

“You should eat something, though love. I hate seein’ ya so down, sweetheart – tell us what we can do to help.” 

“I just want Rana,” she had said and Johnny and Jenny knew they were powerless to help.

Johnny looked up from behind the bar and rushed over to his daughter. He wrapped her up in a bear hug and kissed her cheek.

“Dad, I...need...to breathe...”

“Sorry love, I’m just so glad you came - I was worried you wouldn’t.”

She was tempted to tell him the truth, that she almost didn’t, but one look at his expectant face made her change her mind and she hugged him tighter instead.

“Happy birthday, sweetheart.”

“Thanks dad.”

______________________________________________________________________ 

Kate was several drinks in by the time the rest of the guests had arrived and she realised she was lucky to have so many family and friends to rally around her. However, there was one noticeable absentee and her heart ached at the fact that her wife was not by her side.

She downed the remaining contents of her red wine and squinted at the person at the other end of the bar.

“OI, YOU!” she shouted and the woman looked up. “You’ve got some flamin’ nerve – what the HELL do you think you’re doing here?”

“Kate, c’mon love don’t start. Let’s have a nice evening, yeah?” Michelle tried to intervene but Kate shrugged her away.

“Don’t start? DON’T START?! It’s her fault that Rana’s not here and you know it!” Kate yelled and stumbled forward. Luckily, Michelle was there to steady her fall and grabbed her by the forearms.

“I’ve already apologised to you, Kate, I don’t know how many more times I can say it.”

“You’re sorry, YOU’RE SORRY? Did you hear that?!” she asked nobody in particular. “It’s not good enough! I don’t give a bloody rats backside about ‘how sorry’ you are – you are still to blame!” Kate slurred and pointed an angry finger in the woman’s direction. “You’re a vindictive bi...”

Kate’s sentence was promptly cut off by the opening and closing of the pub door and her mouth hung open in shock at the sight of the new arrival.

“Wow and you say I’m the dramatic one?”

Kate’s breath caught in her throat and she grasped the bar as she began to feel light headed.

“I must say, I’m disappointed - that’s not the welcome home I was expecting.”

Kate needed no further prompting and she practically launched herself at her wife. She scooped her up in her arms and lifted her off the floor. Kate set Rana down and kissed her deeply (only breaking away when the wolf whistles started) before she buried her face into her neck. She closed her eyes and inhaled the intoxicating scent of her hair and perfume as her tears threatened to spill over.

“When did you get back?” Kate’s voice was muffled against her wife’s neck as she held her impossibly close.

“About twenty minutes ago – I caught an earlier train. Didn’t Moira tell ya?” Rana frowned and looked at the practice manager.

“I did try but I didn’t get the chance to,” Moira explained. “If I had known the conference was going to last the whole month and coincide with your birthday, I would’ve sent one of the other nurses instead.”

Kate lifted her face from Rana’s neck and offered an apology to Moira, which was accepted.

“I missed you so much. I tried to text ya but my flippin’ phone died and then I couldn’t get a signal...” Rana said and was cut off by Kate’s lips.

“I missed you too,” she whispered and rested their foreheads together. “Do you want a drink?” Kate asked and Rana shook her head.

“Actually, I was thinking we could go home and open that expensive bottle of wine we’ve been saving for a special occasion. I’d say today is very much a special day, wouldn’t you?” Rana whispered and Kate eagerly nodded before she kissed her again. The couple quickly said their goodbyes (not even caring about social etiquette) and hurried out of the pub.

______________________________________________________________________

In the end, Kate and Rana decided to forgo the wine in exchange for spending hours upon hours of making up for lost time and enjoying each others’ company, tangled up in their bed. It was close to the early hours of the morning by the time they had finished, and both women were virtually about to collapse in exhaustion. 

After several rounds of incredible sex, Rana was too sensitive to continue and she gently tugged on Kate’s hair to get her to come back up. Kate quickly got the hint and crawled up the length of her wife’s body and settled down with her face in the crook of her neck and a leg draped over her hips.

“God, I missed you,” Rana sighed contentedly and tenderly ran her fingers through Kate’s soft, damp hair.

“Same,” Kate purred and nuzzled her nose against Rana’s neck. She leant up on one elbow and pressed her lips to her wife’s. “The last month has been horrible without you, I couldn’t bear being apart.” 

“I know. I hated every second of it too.”

“Let’s not do it again, ey?” she vowed and Rana shivered lightly as Kate traced random shapes on her bare navel and hip.

“Well, after the way you shouted at Moira, I think it’s safe to say she won’t be in a hurry to send me on another conference,” Rana sniggered and Kate winced.

“I should apologise to her, shouldn’t I?”

“Nah, she’ll get over it,” Rana shrugged a shoulder. “Anyway, let’s not talk about her; I think it’s time for me to give you your birthday present.”

“Wait a minute, you mean that wasn’t it?!” Kate glanced down at their naked bodies and fixed her wife with a cheeky grin and a raised eyebrow.

“No.” Rana rolled her eyes and gently nudged her shoulder. “It’s in my bag.”

“Does that involve moving?” Kate whined and snuggled closer. “Can’t you just tell me what it is?”

“No, I can’t; you need to look at it,” Rana insisted but Kate stubbornly refused to move and instead tightened her hold. “Fine, I’ll get it.” Rana leaned over her wife and reached inside her handbag. Her hand located the item and she handed Kate a thin envelope. “Happy birthday.”

“What is it?”

“Open it and find out.”

Rana watched in excitement as Kate carefully opened the seal and pulled out the paper inside.

“Are you for real?!”

“Mmhm.” Rana nodded slowly. 

In Kate’s hands were two tickets to Thailand.

“Turns out the nurse I was sharing a room with is from Phuket and her husband is a travel agent. I got us a really good deal through him and she said her sister will let us stay in her apartment.”

“You’re amazing, d’ya know that?” Kate shook her head in awe and bent down to kiss her wife deeply.

“Yeah, I know,” Rana teased and Kate chuckled. “So, I take it you like your present then?”

“I love it and I love you.” Kate nodded. “Best birthday ever,” Kate spoke in the softest voice Rana had ever heard before she settled back down and began to show her wife her utmost gratitude once again. 

 

THE END!

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading. I hope you enjoyed it and the 'twist' wasn't too predictable! lol Please let me know what you thought. :)


End file.
